Poltergeist gets an awful lot right, but without one key ingredient it ends up being a flat and tame horror. The acting is superb, Sam Rockwell and Rosemary DeWitt genuinely convince with realistic and grounded performances that drive the film, even the young actors do a good job. The film is also beautifully shot, even in darker scenes their are shot compositions that interest. I didn't see this film in 3D but you can it would've definitely worked, as the 3D moments are built into the story and aren't thrown in, this has been thought out really well.
The real issue with this horror is that there is absolutely zero atmosphere. A horror without an atmosphere is like being served at a restaurant and finding out your meal isn't up to scratch, in other words disappointing. Poltergeist had potential but it's left with only jump scares that aren't effective because of that lack of atmosphere. This is a crying shame, I was enjoying the first act of the film as it drew me in up until the darkness crept it. Damn I'm disappointed.
The real issue with this horror is that there is absolutely zero atmosphere. A horror without an atmosphere is like being served at a restaurant and finding out your meal isn't up to scratch, in other words disappointing. Poltergeist had potential but it's left with only jump scares that aren't effective because of that lack of atmosphere. This is a crying shame, I was enjoying the first act of the film as it drew me in up until the darkness crept it. Damn I'm disappointed.